Ancient Religions

Prehistoric religion is a general term for the religious beliefs and practices of prehistoric peoples. More specifically it encompasses Paleolithic religion, Mesolithic religion, Neolithic religion and Bronze Age religion.

Religion (from the Latin Religio, meaning 'restraint', or Relegere, according to Cicero, meaning 'to repeat, to read again', or, most likely, Religionem, to show respect for what is sacred) is an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience.

The ancient world was home to a huge variety of religions and belief systems. Most have faded away, their temples and statues vanished or half-sunk in the desert sand, their gods barely remembered. The religions on this list were all founded before most of the main religions of today (Christianity, Hinduism, Islam) and most of them have completely died out - although some are being revived by new practitioners.

It would appear that religion in some form or other has been an essential element in the life and culture of humankind throughout the ages, going back far beyond the threshold of history.

How much of religious history was influenced by mind-altering substances?

Indigenous beliefs of ancient Egypt from predynastic times (4th millennium bce) to the disappearance of the traditional culture in the first centuries ce.

Gods and Goddesses - Explore Gods of Ancient Egypt.

The beliefs and practices of Stone Age peoples. General characteristics Burial customs and cults of the dead The oldest known burials can be attributed to the Middle Paleolithic.

Archaeology and Early History: Religion - Prehistoric religion.

Here are three types of ancient rituals that are still practiced worldwide, what they purport to accomplish, and what their practice means in today's world.